Heretofore, it is known to have a dispenser deliver both hot or cold beverages, but not from the same spout.
It is known to form a beverage by mixing a known amount of concentrate with another ingredient, such as water, in an amount to provide the desired Brix of the beverage.
However it is not known to deliver either hot or cold water into a common chamber to form with the appropriate selected flavor concentrate either a hot or cold beverage. In the prior art, it is believed that the hot or cold water was delivered to two separate chambers (one for hot and another for cold) to form with the selected flavor concentrates either a hot or cold beverage in its own separate hot or cold chamber.
To control Brix, which is the ratio of the flavor ingredient to the total beverage (by volume or weight), heretofore it was established by determining the amount of flavor concentrate and then add sufficient other ingredient (usually water) to achieve the desired Brix, and hence establish the taste and quality of the beverage. For example, a desired beverage may vary in Brix for the beverage type (such as carbonated, non-carbonated, soda/cola, juice, smoothie, tea, etc.), by concentration of the flavor concentrate, by operator's/consumer's preference, etc. In the past, a selected Brix was achieved by adding the necessary amount of water to a known quantity of flavor concentrate.
Generally merely adding the flavor itself was insufficient, and it was necessary to mix the two or more ingredients together. For example, various mixers such as two separate static mixers were used in forming two beverages for providing either a hot drink or a cold beverage. It is believed not known to use the same mixer static or dynamic, to provide either a hot or cold beverage formed in a common chamber.
While it is known by various means to measure the volume or flow rate of a flavor concentrate, such as flow meters, pressure differentials, and even counting the number of rollers passing by in a peristaltic pump, it believed not known to measure the current of an electric motor driving the concentrate pump, such as a peristaltic pump, to determine the flavor concentrate volume.